Plants belonging to the family Rutaceae, for example, the bark (without pellicle) of the Phellodendron amurense, that is, Phellodendron Bark, or the powder thereof, that is, Phellodendron Bark Powder, have been used in the past as a stomachic. In the past, however, they have not been used for the purpose of activating the central nervous system. The present inventors found that, unexpectedly, the processed product of the plant body or the extract of a plant belonging to the family Rutaceae has an activity to activate the central nervous system.
Further, the present inventors found that the above-mentioned processed product of the plant body of the plant belonging to the family Rutaceae, in particular, the extract thereof, has a remarkable taste enhancing action.
The present invention is based on these discoveries.